Ever Lullaby
by Remo Con
Summary: Harry Potter, or Julian Snape? That is the question the boy who lived wants to know the answer to. With him are his alleged twin, Seto Snape and his supposed father Severus. What part does this trio play in Voldmort's defeat...or in his victory...
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer: All right, for all of those who actually think I own Harry Potter, get help, because if I was the wonder J.K. Rowling, I wouldn't bother writing fanfiction, no I would be getting my next book published and getting a lot, lot, lot of money. As I'm not, I can safely safe that J.K. Rowling I am not.

CHAPTER 1: No One is Who They Seem To Be

"If any of you has actually read anything over the summer then brewing this potion will be simple, but," Snape said, his eyes glittering dangerously at the sixth year students, "I will personally be amazed if any of you has, with possibly the exception of Miss-Know-It-All Granger." He glared at all of the Gryffindor students, daring them to talk back. But none did; though they were all steaming silently, or shaking in terror in Neville's case. Professor Snape waved his wand and the instructions appeared on the board. Quickly and silently the class got to work on the Memory Potion.

The Memory Potion's concept was one of a fairly strange and nearly useless nature. One simply took a sip, and if brewed correctly they would immediately be lost in a memory long since forgotten. The only reason people still made this particular potion is that on rare occasions, it would be used in investigations of all different natures because a particular witness had forgotten the exact events they were testifying about. And sometimes if a person has just died then a family member would use the potion to help remember the deceased better.

Ron and Harry worked hard until the end of class, determined to give Snape as little to criticize this year as possible. Then, just before the end of the class period Snape instructed everyone to take a vial full of his or her potion and drink it. If they had done it correctly, then they would experience a memory. If not, they would be rushed immediately to the hospital wing for it would be a weak poison. Harry and Ron looked at each other, then downed the vile looking concoction. Immediately both of them fell into their very distant past.

****

* Harry's Memory *

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A man held him gently, smelling of pine trees and peppermint. Harry could tell that this man loved him very much and he loved him back. Still holding Harry the man began to sing, his smooth baritone voice, charming baby Harry. 

"Silent are the whispers,

Of a crying wind,

Heartfelt songs of wisdom,

Rotting in the dim,

Child of winter, 

Summer or fall,

Listen to the earth,

And head its careful call,

While outside the spring birds fly,

Never tilting their heads,

Or catching one's eye,

For those of that season,

Are seldom a friend,

Wolves pace backwards,

Howling in their dens,

While fire and ice together,

Turn the world from black,

Scarred innocence and youth,

May change the world back,

Dear souls of the dead and living,

A desperate call to heed,

In a quiet hour,

Sown then is the seed,

So cultivate it,

Make it grow,

For in the end,

All shall know,

As long as I live,

Somehow you'll be safe,

The tree has whispered to the moon,

Asleep if the child,

With tender caring face,

Who shall save the world,

With amazing grace,

But for now,

Let him rest,

Here in my arms,

While I sing him this lullaby,

Goodnight,

Goodnight,

A long road to travel,

In time."

Baby Harry yawned and he could feel the man smile. Carefully he laid Harry down in his crib and tucked him in.

"Sleep tight, my child," said the man, his voice low, but warm and tender. "I love you."

"Luv you dada," Harry giggled and he heard the man chuckle.

"Good night, Julian, I'll see you in the morning." Baby Harry snuggled against his pillow and fell asleep.

****

* End Harry's Memory *

Harry opened his eyes and found himself once more in the dungeons and felt confused. Everyone had turned toward him and was staring.

"What-" he began to ask but Snape interrupted him.

"Where did you learn that song?" The potions master asked hoarsely.

"Song?" Harry said blankly. "What song?" Ron looked at him, unsure of what to do.

"Don't you remember?" The Weasly boy asked his best friend. "When everyone else was, er, waking up you sang a song, funny thing it was, but beautiful too." Harry just blinked, he didn't recall singing, but he did remember that man singing to him… Then he realized that he must have started to sing along. 

"Potter," Snape said, his voice shaking. "Come with me. The rest of you go to your next class." By the end of the sentence his voice had gotten its normal snap back in it. Everyone quickly began to clean up and Harry followed Snape out of the dungeons, wondering what was going on. They walked until the familiar gargoyle that guarded appeared.

"Snickers," Snape said. Then he entered with Harry trailing behind. As they walked up the small staircase, Harry quickly contemplated recent events. Why had that song affected Snape so much? And who was that man who had sung it to him? Harry felt certain that it had not been James Potter, yet the voice has sounded familiar and he had called the man dad. An almost blinded light hit Harry's eyes and he looked forward. Dumbledore sat in a large wooden chair behind his desk, observing them through his half-moon spectacles. 

"Well, Severus," The headmaster said, a faintly amused tone in his voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure? And Mr. Potter, well this certainty is a surprise." Harry doubted that anything, including this, surprised Dumbledore. 

"Albus," Severus said, his voice hard. "I believe you have some explaining to do."

"Whatever for, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"Today, during class," Snape said, sounding bitter. "While experiencing his memory, Potter began to sing a song."

"Really," Dumbledore said, holding back a laugh. "What song did Harry feel compelled to sing?"

"Now that is the funny part," Snape hissed. "He sang Celie's lullaby. And as you know, only people in my family ever hear it. And the only people still living in my family are I, and possibly my son. So, my question is this, headmaster: How did Potter learn that song?" Harry gaped at the potions master, thoughts going too fast through his brain for him to process them all. The headmaster sighed.

"Sit down," He said. "Both of you." Glaring, Snape pulled out a chair and sat. Harry took the one next to it. Dumbledore ran a hand through his beard.

"I'm not sure where to begin," The headmaster said heavily. "Well, I suppose for mostly Harry's benefit I shall start at the very beginning…"

****

* Dumbledore's Memory *

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The Potter's stood before him, holding their young son, worry written heavily upon their faces. Dumbledore sighed, knowing why they were here, in his office.

"Albus," James said, his voice tight. "We know Voldemort is after us. We are not afraid, however we want you to do one thing for us before he comes."

"We want you to save our son," Lily continued. "Please, make sure he is out of danger, please." Her eyes filled with tears in worry for her baby. Harry yawned and snuggled closer to his mother, his red hair looking just like Lily's, however it was still fashioned, or perhaps unfashioned is a better word, like James's. Again, Dumbledore sighed.

"I have a way," The old headmaster said heavily

"What?" Lily cried. "Please, tell us!"

"I know of another child, the same age as your Harry. I could place a charm on him to look almost exactly like Harry," Dumbledore said. "Then I know the Weaslys would take Harry and care for him until it was safe for him to come to Hogwarts."

"Who is the child?" James asked.

_"If you want me to do this," Dumbledore replied. "You must tell me with out ever learning the identity of this child, do you understand?" Lily and James looked at each other. They wanted Harry safe, yes, but could they risk another child's life to do so?_

"We accept," Lily said finally. Dumbledore nodded

"Come back tomorrow, and I will do the switch." With that, the young couple left.

That night Albus apparated to Snape manor and waited until Severus was out of the child room. Then he made his move. Silently he took the child out of his cradle and quickly preformed the charm, so the child now looked like James Potter. Though there was nothing the headmaster could do to mask the bright green eyes, he let them be for they looked liked Lily's so no one would notice. When he had finished, Dumbledore apparatd to just outside the Hogwarts grounds and walked to the castle. Inside his office he lay the child down in a cradle he had just conjured and sat behind his desk, pondering what he had just done. The next day the Potters arrived and took the new boy and gave their son, though it grieve them to do so, to Dumbledore. The same hour the headmaster delivered the boy to the Weaslys who were overjoyed to have him and immediately named him Ronald. Then Albus returned to Hogwarts. 

****

* End Dumbledore's Memory *

Severus and Harry gaped at the headmaster.

"I'm not, I'm not," Harry stammered. 

"No, you are not Harry Potter," Dumbledore said quietly. "You friend Ron Weasly is."

"Then who am I?" Harry asked the headmaster shakily. But it was Severus, not Dumbledore who answered.

"You are Julian Henry Snape." Just those five words hit Harry harder than anything ever had before, including Dobby's rogue bludger.

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All right, I don't know how many of you are Yu-Gi-Oh fans, or even no anything about Yu-Gi-Oh, but as I am taking one character from there, JUST ONE, here's the quick brush up on that character. Seto Kaiba is the owner of Kaiba corp., which is a big company, which uses virtual technology to make dueling (a card game, all right?) more realistic. He supposedly is an orphan and has a younger brother named Mocuba, but if you can tell anything by this chapter I am not going to leave his life as it is. Not at all *evil laughter*, erherm, anyway you don't need to follow or like Yu-Gi-Oh to follow this fic, because this is a Harry Potter fic, so anything you do know about Yu-Gi-Oh is probably going to go out the window. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think so far ~ Remo


	2. Chapter 2

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Important Note: Remember, every time Kaiba talks or someone talks to him, it is in Japanese even if it's written in English, that's why Harry and Severus don't understand him.

CHAPTER 2: No One But the CEO Could Have It This Bad

Harry stared up at the canopy above his bed. No one else had come up to bed yet so Harry took this time to think. It was just too strange that Snape was his father. And now he had to decide whether he wanted Dumbledore to lift the charm. That made him feel odd. What would it be like to look in the mirror and not see himself, Harry Potter, anymore?

And as he lay there thinking, questions arose in the young wizard's mind. Like who was his mother? What of her family? And Snape, Harry realized bitterly that he didn't really know anything about his father. Always it was the greasy old potions master, or greasy git for short. True, there was also the spy thing, but until now Harry had never really thought about it or how much it meant to the order, the survival of the good wizards and muggles alike. Lastly Harry did remember the small flashes of memories he had glimpsed in his last Occlumancy lesson and he wondered what kind of life Snape had had before becoming a Hogwarts professor. Harry realized he really shouldn't have run out of the headmaster's office the second after Snape had said the name, but it had been too much, and as much as he regretted it now, he knew that even if he went back he wouldn't have done anything different.

The door opened and Harry shut his eyes, pretending to have fallen asleep.

"Harry?" he heard Ron ask uncertainty. When no reply came, Ron sighed and walked back to the common room. At the sound of his friend's voice Harry was struck by a sudden thought: Ron was really Harry, when was Dumbledore planning on telling about his true parentage? Then with a sickening lurch in his stomach Harry realized he would have to tell Sirius and (A.N. Sirius came back, but that's another story so you'll have to wait a while for a brief synopsis of that particular story in this one) everyone else, but Harry was much more worried about Sirius's reaction. After all, Sirius and Snape hated each other. On that note, who was Harry's real godfather? Harry sighed, he would have to talk with Snape tomorrow, but he didn't want too. Oh well, better to come to terms with this sooner, rather than later.

It never occurred to Harry that he already had come to terms with it. He had accepted it without ever thinking that maybe there had been a mistake, and he had even begun to refer to Snape as his father for brief moments. 

So, his mind troubled with many thoughts, the boy who no longer really knew who he was, fell asleep. 

* * * * * * *

"How could you?" Snape asked, trembling with rage. "How could you keep my son from me?"

"It was for your own good," Dumbledore tried to reason with him. "Yours and Harry's." Severus made a noise halfway between a snort and a suppressed sob.

"I know that it seems wrong now, but in time you'll see my reasoning," the headmaster continued. "Now, I know you're upset-"

"Upset?" Severus began quietly. "Upset? Why would I be upset! I've just found out that my son is the bloody boy who lived! Because of you headmaster! Upset? Why would I be upset!" By the end he was yelling loud enough to wake the dead.

"Severus, I need you and Harry to come to Japan tomorrow," Albus said softly.

"Japan?" Severus said disbelieving. "After all this you want us to go to Japan with you?" Albus looked him directly in the eye.

"If you don't, you'll be making the biggest mistake of your life, including becoming a death eater." Oh, that was low.

"I don't see how going on a little vacation with you would rank anywhere up there, but fine, since you put it that way fine. But you can tell Po- Harry. Good night headmaster." And he was gone.

* * * * * * *

The next morning at about 2 A.M the headmaster went into Gryffindor tower and woke Harry.

"Shh," the headmaster said. "Quickly get packed and come with me." Confused, Harry complied. A few minutes later they walked down to the dungeons and found Severus waiting for them. Dumbledore took out a bubble gum wrapped and told them each to touch a small piece.

"3…2…1," The headmaster whispered and then it became evident to the other two that the gum wrapper, however strange it may be, was a portkey.

* * * * * * *

Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp hated these early morning meetings for several reasons. One and foremost he was not a morning person, at all, period. Second, they were always cutting in on his time with Mocuba, and third he was never able to make them on time. He didn't see why they couldn't hold them in the Kaiba Corp. building either. Must they make life so difficult? As he came barreling out of his mansion he noticed it was pouring and unfortunately he was running and unfortunately the ground was slippery and unfortunately he slipped and slid down his rather long driveway.

"Kuso," he swore. "I don't have time for this. Now I get to the meeting sopping. Fun. My limo driver planned this. He knew it would be raining. I just know it!" (The limo driver was sitting on a white sandy beach in the Bahamas, laughing maniacally. "I knew it would rain! I planned this! Now my boss will get sopping! Hahahaha!" Now back to Seto) Quickly he stood up and prayed to Kami that he would get to the meeting in one piece. Setting a slightly slower pace he set off but this time he hit somebody, who he was positive hadn't been standing there before.

"Kuso," he swore again. "Would you watch where you're going?" Two of them stared at him, a man with rather long and frankly greasy looking hair and a boy with bright green eyes and hair that looked like he had never brushed it in his life. The other one which Seto believe to be the one he ran into was a tall old man with a silvery white beard and he smiled.

"Ohayou," the old man said pleasantly. "Gomen kudasai, are you Seto Kaiba."

"Hai," Seto answered, annoyed. 

"Good, gomen nasai for running into you, but may we talk, onegai?" The old man persisted.

"Iie," Seto said hurriedly, then started back off again.

"Teishi!" the old man called. "What if I told you I could tell you something of your family?" Seto turned around and glared at the old man.

"Ahou, my family is dead," he said coldly. "Leave me alone you yopparai." 

"Matte!" the old man called. "Matte!" Seto didn't even bother to turn around this time. Then suddenly he couldn't move at all. The old man walked up beside him, holding a long stick in his hand.

"You're a, a mahou-zukai!" Seto gasped.

"Hai," the old man nodded. "Now, either you can talk with me and those two frozen, or not."

"I'd prefer not," Seto said stiffly. 

"Very well," the old man muttered something and suddenly Seto found himself able to move again. 

"My name is Albus Dumbledore," the old man said, then he turned and pointed to the other two. "He is your Otouchan, his name is Severus Snape, and that is your aniki, his name is Harry Potter."

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All right, for all of you who don't speak Japanese (not that I do, I merely read it in a lot of fanfiction and learned some words) here is what I used in this chapter:

kuso - the equivalent of the word shit

ohayou - good morning

gomen kudasai - excuse me

hai - yes

gomen nasai - I'm sorry, forgive me

iie - no

teishi - stop

ahou - idiot

yopparai - drunkard

matte - wait

mahou-zukai - wizard, magic user, sorcerer

otouchan - father

aniki - brother 

Well, next chapter there will be a lot more interaction between Seto, Severus, and Harry as Dumbledore will use a spell that will allow Seto to speak English. Please review ~ Remo


End file.
